Failing Forward

The unlikely pathway to innovation

By Natalie Born

In business, we often praise innovation, but rarely celebrate the failure that precedes it. Yet failure, when approached with intention, can be one of the most effective training grounds for innovation. For leaders committed to growth, embracing failure isn’t a weakness, it’s a strategic advantage.

The truth is, not every organization creates space for safe failure. In many environments, mistakes are punished, not examined. And because failure is hidden, the teams that fail never learn, and neither do their peers. That culture stifles innovation. People go into hiding with their failed attempts, fearing the consequences. But what if failure became a normalized part of how your organization learns?

Sharing our failures also enables us to give and receive rapid feedback. Organizations that prioritize this are healthier and see higher revenues and returns. The idea of failing fast and failing cheap is simply that we must place guardrails around our ideas and innovations. These guardrails keep us from going out too far, too fast.

This mindset helped us build better products with higher retention and create stronger teams. When we pitched a new idea, we didn’t wait until it was fully built. We brought rough sketches to customers, asking: “Would this solve your problem?” If the room leaned in and asked to hear more, we moved forward. If not, it was time to go back to the drawing board with gratitude, not shame. The customer saved us from wasting time and money on something without market interest.

Business leaders need to model this same mindset. Start by sharing a time you failed and what you learned from it. Create an environment where the team knows it’s OK to stumble, as long as they’re learning. The faster you test, the faster you gather data, and the faster you pivot toward what your customers actually want.

Many high-profile product failures, such as Apple’s Newton, Facebook Home or Google Glass, essentially missed the mark because companies pushed ideas the market wasn’t asking for. They built in silos, moving too far without early customer feedback. The result? Millions lost, reputations bruised and lessons learned too late. Failing fast allows teams to learn lessons early before they ever reach the masses.

What if we flipped the model? Through building these stage gates or structured checkpoints it serves to test assumptions and validate direction. Equip your teams to sketch, test and refine. Celebrate those who bravely admit when an idea didn’t work. Not because we want to reward failure, but because we want to reward the willingness to try and learn. We want teams that feel free from fear and ready to learn.

As a leader, you can accelerate innovation by normalizing these conversations. Ask your team:

What have you tried recently that didn’t work?

What did you learn from it?

What might we try next?

True innovation doesn’t come from playing it safe, it comes from knowing how to fall and rise quickly. If your organization wants to build a culture of breakthrough thinking, start by reframing how you see failure. When failure becomes a teacher, innovation becomes inevitable.

Natalie Born is the CEO of Innovation Meets Leadership, a strategy consultant, keynote speaker and host of the top-25 innovation podcast Innovation Meets Leadership, listened to in over 80 countries. Natalie specializes in helping businesses align leadership, create actionable strategies and drive growth. Her book, Set It on Fire: The Art of Innovation, is a guide to sparking creativity and transforming ideas into market-ready innovations. Natalie is married to Aaron, and they have two daughters.